BRIEFLY

Western Digital expects a fourth-quarter loss.

Less than one week after it announced plans to lay off nearly 300 workers, Western Digital Corp. said that it expects to report an unspecified loss for the quarter. Ironically, the company said the loss comes primarily because of the high costs of filling an abnormal amount of large orders for key customers. The Irvine-based computer products maker reported net income of $3.3 million in the fiscal 1984 fourth quarter. Despite the anticipated quarterly loss, the company said it expects to be profitable for the fiscal year ended June 30.